Americanparuski

As if there was not enough delays all ready. I used an attorny to
check and file my paper work on June 10th 2002. On Septmeber 5th I
recieved an RFE from CSC wanting a final divorce decree. Only after I
went to a local attorny and had my paper work forwarded to her from my
previous attorny did we find out the attorny filed the wrong paper in
regards to my divorce. So a 60 day delay that could have been avoided
had I had a good attorny in the beginning. Whata gona do!

Matthew Udall

Curious, when you originally supplied your supporting documentation to your original attorney, did you give the original attorney a copy of the "final decree"? Did you give that attorney some other court paper relating to the divorce that was not really the final decree? Did you give the attorney both a final decree "plus" other court papers that were not a final decree? (obviously the attorney either did not understand what you gave him or her, or did not bother reading it if you did give him or her some sort of court paper relating to your divorce).

You would think an attorney would read the decree to make sure it was a final decree, however perhaps that attorney is not used to reading such documents (but that's still no excuse). I've also seen divorce nisi decrees before, and have read on this usenet group about do-it-yourselfers who have submitted such nisi decrees only to find out that they are "not" final divorce decrees (I recall having a rather heated discussion a long time ago with a client who “INSISTED� the decree he had supplied to me [the nisi decree] was all I needed to file his I-129f! Of course, I set him straight and had him call the courthouse that issued the decree. They set him straight too [plus gave him a final decree], and by spotting this I saved him an RFE right then and there… I love it when that sort of thing happens :-).

Couple of more questions: Was your attorney a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association? Before choosing this original attorney, did you specifically ask him or her if he or she has processed an I-129f case at the CSC before, and if so, how many of them?

That seems like a heck of a long time to get the RFE (3 months). Was your case ever “overdue� as per the JIT Report (before those 3 months elapsed)? If so, did your attorney contact the CSC using the faxing system to alert them of this problem (that the case was overdue, even though you had not received your RFE yet)?

The good news is that once they receive your RFE materials, if they identify them in the mailroom as RFE materials (and please tell me your new attorney used the actual blue colored RFE return sheet instead of a “white xerox copy� of that blue colored sheet... the mailroom looks for the "blue" to help them identify RFE replies... and believe me, you “don't� want your RFE reply being lumped in with "correspondence�) the case should proceed rather quickly. A contract worker will then go to a special RFE shelf in the file room where they have your case grouped with all the other types of cases where RFE's were sent. The file will be pulled and taken (along with your RFE materials) back to the officer for processing. Although I've not had many (if any) RFE's through the CSC, I've asked about them during my visits at the CSC, and they are pretty quick with them at the CSC (of course, my definition of "pretty quick" might be slightly different than yours).

Good luck with the rest of your case.

Regards,
Matthew Udall
Attorney
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm

Folinskyinla

Hi Matt:

And perhaps the attorney had a bad hair day and just out and out made a mistake. That happens.

I attended an MCLE two weeks ago on ethics -- the speaker, Diane Karpman [who is published in California Lawyer BTW] differentiated between the type of error noted and those that go to moral character. If an attorney makes a mistake like that divorce decree, you own up to it, fix it and move on. The lecture then moved on moral character problems based upon duties of honesty, competence, communication, safekeeping and keeping confidences.

And sometimes, those documents are just downright confusing. California used to have "interlocutory decrees" and "final decrees" rather than using the latin "decree nisi" and "decree absolute."

I am amused about the argument with clients on the legal nature of a foreign document. I once had an Iranian come in with a Farsi decree translated as "Decree of Adoption" and want to petition for his adopted child. I told him the translation was incorrect and should have been "Decree of Guardianship". Client very upset inasmuch as I can only say hello and thank you in Farsi before exhuasting my knowledge of the language. How could I comment on the translation? Of course, I explained that although Islam takes care of orphans it does NOT allow for "adoption" as the term is understood in other cultures -- e.g. the kid does not become yours as if born to you, blood counts.

I aim to never make a mistake -- but I don't reach that goal.

Matthew Udall

Curious again. What do you mean by having the attorney "check and file" your paperwork? Did this attorney have the opportunity to complete the forms for you and put together your submission including the supporting documentation that he or she asked you to provide, or was this more along the lines of you putting together your entire submission and bringing it to his or her office, acco fastened together, for a quick glance, leafing through by the attorney. If the latter, how much time did you give the attorney to check over your work?

Even if it was the "quick glance" leafing through, he or she still should have spotted a problem with the divorce decree if it was something he or she could spot/identify. I know I would have spotted it.

Perhaps I should start offering this service to the do-it-yourself community. They fax their completed forms to me, plus all of their supporting documentation, I take a look at it, recommend corrections, recommend doc's to submit, identify potential problem issues and tell them steps to take to try to keep those potential problems from becoming actual problems, answer their questions, give general information and tips for the entire process... that sort of thing. I could do this at an hourly rate and even if I was called upon for consultations a couple of different times during the course of someone's case, I could probably do a decent job of this very limited service in a couple of hours worth of time. But of course, my role would be as a consultant, not the attorney of record and my name would not be on the forms (meaning I could not follow up with a Consulate or INS office if needed, which in my opinion, is one of the best things an attorney can bring to someone’s case).

Regards,
Matthew Udall
Attorney